


Identity Crisis

by miss_aligned



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Mass Effect 3, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-18
Updated: 2016-06-18
Packaged: 2018-07-15 19:36:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7235803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_aligned/pseuds/miss_aligned
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Not many things rattle the Commander, but there's one small detail that everyone else finds highly amusing and she, most certainly, does not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Identity Crisis

The rhythmic, explosive sounds of blows on a punching bag were the first things to greet Kaidan upon entering the apartment. He paused, watching her from the hallway for a moment. Her stance was unusual, aggressive. There was anger propelling her punches forward. Growls laced with frustration met his ears.

Setting the small bag of groceries aside, he quietly meandered down the hall to check in on her. Any number of things could have been bothering her, from annoying discussion with the Council to a bad performance at Armax Arsenal Arena. If she wanted to talk about it, he intended to make himself available before she punched the bag straight off of its frame.

“Shepard?” He leaned against the doorframe as he addressed her, not wanting to fully interrupt her workout or thoughts. “Everything okay?”

The Commander pounded in silence on the poor, defenseless bag for several long moments longer. Sweat beaded on her skin while the muscles along her arms and back rippled with the effort. He took a moment to observe and appreciate the view, but recognized that the silence likely indicated her reluctance to discuss whatever was troubling her at the moment. He had no intentions of pressing the issue. She’d talk when she was ready.

Kaidan straightened and turned away, ready to prepare dinner and leave her to pummeling the punching bag in peace.

“I have a clone,” she hissed, driving her fist into the bag.

“Had,” the Major corrected, turning to face her once more.

“Why doesn’t that bother you?” She paused, adjusting her body position to get a look at him.

“I suppose it makes sense. What if you needed a new liver or something while they were bringing you back? I remember a time or two where you were pretty hard on yours–”

“You know what I mean,” Shepard interrupted. She clearly wasn’t in the mood for joking.

“Yes, I know what you mean,” he replied. Offering her a small sympathetic smile. “And I see that it’s bothering you.”

Shepard sighed heavily and turned her aggression back to the punching bag, drilling it with jabs until he was sure her knuckles were going to begin bleeding. He stepped towards her and gently took hold of one of her hands before she could use it to attack again. She relaxed a little as he brought it to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to her reddened skin.

“Why is everyone so okay with this? Why am I the only one freaked out?” She ran her opposite hand through her hair and kept her gaze locked on the punching bag.

“Come on,” Kaidan cooed as he led her away to sit down. Once they’d both taken a seat at the foot of the bed, he began to try and explain his nonchalant attitude regarding the clone of Shepard that they’d encountered. “I guess it doesn’t bother me that much because I’d already assumed that this was a possibility when I first heard rumor that you’d been sighted years after Alchera. After I saw you on Horizon,” he paused, clearing his throat. This was difficult to properly put into words.

“You thought I was a clone,” Shepard responded. She pulled her hand away and rubbed her fingers over her reddened knuckles.

“I was guessing at a lot of possible explanations, trying to make some sense of it all. I’m happy to say that I was wrong, at least,” he offered with an apologetic smile.

“Were you?” She continued rubbing idly at the irritated skin on her hands. “Everyone thought it was so funny. Like it’s no big deal–”

“Because we know. You’re you. If you were in a lineup with a dozen clones, we’d be able to pick you out without a problem.” Kaidan draped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

“How could you possibly tell? It’s all the same DNA.”

“Well, for one, you’d be systematically annihilating the others…”

Shepard chuckled and it was like music to his ears. “If they have the same DNA, it would be quite the brawl. Bred for violence, and all,” she responded.

“That’s not true,” Kaidan leaned in to plant a kiss on her cheek.

“But what if there are more? What if they’re better at being me than I am?” Her brow furrowed while her gaze still lingered on her hands.

“Yeah,” the Major answered in a hushed tone. “What if?”

Her eyes snapped up to his face, clearly evaluating his every gesture. “You don’t care?”

“No,” he rather plainly responded. “And you shouldn’t, either.”

“I would have thought…” Shepard began, her voice barely above a whisper. She rolled her shoulders and straightened up, as though bracing herself. “I would have thought that you’d have the biggest issue with it. Like I might not be me.”

He slipped down to the floor in front of her, his hands on her knees as he stared directly in her eyes. “Hey, I know you’re you. I spent too long second-guessing. I can’t explain this any better but I just know that you’re you. If you can’t trust yourself, will you trust me?”

She searched his face in silence for a long moment before subtly nodding her head. Shepard leaned forward and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him up for a hug. She didn’t say anything further on the subject, but he knew she felt a bit better about the situation. Pride swelled in his chest at the thought.

“Besides, if there were any more clones of you running around, we would’ve heard it in the news when all the sushi restaurants in existence were suddenly destroyed.”

She sighed heavily and pressed her head against his shoulder, a stifled chuckle evident in her tone. “Very funny.”


End file.
